You Should Know These Facts Before Incorporating a Business in Singapore

Location matters a lot in business. Even a little freedom to move around in business, benefits a lot. “Remember location independent is never a location arbitrary”. So far, you might have heard about offshore corporations and the possibilities are more that, many of you think, that this has to be the domain of rich and powerful. Singapore has changed this perspective. Henceforth, setting up a business in Singapore an offshore destination for you will never be daunting and distracting.

Setting up a company in Singapore is cheaper and easier. It becomes even more convenient if you work with a firm like SBS Consulting. With SBS, you can start your own business in Singapore within weeks in mere S$ 699.

Five Solid Reasons To Incorporate a Business in Singapore

1) You can incorporate a limited liability company in Singapore within a week. All you need is minimum S$ 1 paid up share capital, one shareholder, one director of any nationality, as well as one Singapore resident company secretary.

2) Singapore has a huge network of about 75 double taxation treaties, which minimizes the global, as well as local withholding tax. Thus extracting funds from local subsidiary companies in the form of dividends, capital management, and fees or extracting funds from the foreign subsidiary companies is a lot more convenient.

3) A company incorporated in Singapore is an attractive investment venture for investors and banks and can be easily listed on SGS, ASX or NYSE.

4) Singapore offers a corporate environment having fair and reasonable transfer pricing rules and an international trading company is supported by low cost multi-currency merchant account.

5) A resident Singapore company enjoys tax exemption for the first three years if the reported net profit is under US $ 125,000. Income or profits earned over this proposed amount is liable to pay corporate income tax rate at 17%, which is very low compared to other developed countries.

Steps Involved in Singapore Company Registration

Pre-Registration Process: Things you should know

-> Company Name: It is mandatory to get the company name approved before starting the incorporation process.

-> Directors: The appointed directors should be 18 years old, should have a clean record and should not be one with a past history of bankruptcy. At least one appointed director has to be a permanent resident of Singapore. A company is allowed to appoint as many directors as they want irrespective of their nationality. Even a non-shareholder person can be appointed as a company director.

-> Shareholders: A Private Limited Company is allowed to take not more than fifty shareholders. A Shareholder and director of the company can be either a same person or different and it is all right if the shareholder is another business entity. In no way, you can distribute shares either to all the foreigners or to the locals. Besides, transfer of shares is allowed only after the incorporation of a company in Singapore.

-> Company Secretary: According to the Section 171 of the Singapore Companies Act, it is mandatory to appoint a company secretary within six months after incorporation of the business. The appointed company secretary has to be a permanent resident of Singapore and must possess the required expertise. Remember, a sole director of the company cannot act as a company secretary.

-> Address: For a successful Singapore business registration, it is compulsory that the proposed company should have and provide a permanent Singapore address. The provided address has to be registered business address and not a post office box no.

-> Taxation: Each company incorporated in Singapore is liable to receive tax exemption and business incentive. It is mandatory for the newly incorporated companies to pay at least 9% of corporate income tax for the initial S$ 300,000 and 17% later on. The Singapore incorporated companies do not have to pay any type of dividend taxes or capital gains.

Special Notifications for Foreigners

By Law, foreigners are not allowed to incorporate or register a company in Singapore. It is recommended to hire a reputed and registered firm offering Singapore incorporation services to set up a business in Singapore.

It is not required to apply and acquire a Singapore visa if you do not intend to relocate for incorporating a company. It is alright if you prefer to run your business from your native country and visit Singapore on a tourist visa to manage your business for a short period. The only thing is, you will need to hire a local resident Singapore director to look after your business in your absence. SBS Consulting is a genuine firm in Singapore offering exceptional incorporation services will help you incorporate a company in Singapore taking care of all the regulations and obligations as mandated by Singapore Companies Act and ACRA.

Documents Required for Incorporating a Business in Singapore

Singapore, although offers a favorable business environment is very strict when it comes to rules and regulations. Registrar of Companies expects that the documents you furnish for the process of incorporation should be precise and in a prescribed format.

-> Approved name of the company

-> Brief explanation of your proposed business activity

-> Shareholder details

-> Information on directors

-> Registered address

-> Company Secretary details

-> Memorandum and Article of Association (MAA)

-> For non-residents: a copy of passport, address proof, and some other documents

-> For Singapore residents: Copy if Singapore identity card

-> Corporate Shareholder: Copy of Registration document

Post Registration Process

-> Certificate of Incorporation: Upon successful completion of the incorporation process, Company Registrar will send you an official mail to your registered address comprising a registrar number of your company. This letter will serve as a legal certificate of incorporation for your new business in Singapore. For a hard copy, revert the mail, pay an additional fee of S$ 50 and collect the certificate of incorporation from the registrar office on the next day.

-> Business Profile of the Company: By placing an online request and paying required fees, you can acquire a business profile of the company containing company details. Within one hour, you will get the business profile documents in registrar office, which contains,

-> Company name and registration number

-> Previous name if any will be included

-> Business activities you are interested to engage in

-> Details of the initial paid-up capital you have invested

-> Registered address of your business entity

-> Details of directors, shareholders and company secretary

As these two documents have a legal status and legal importance you can utilize them to process different formalities related to your business, like opening a bank account, applying for requisite business licenses or for Goods and Service Tax registration.

SBS Consulting since incorporation is offering a helping hand through their exceptional incorporation services to different interested entities interested to incorporation of company in singapore. Besides the accounting, taxation, XBRL filing, corporate secretarial and other corporate services make SBS, a prominent choice amongst prospect entrepreneurs for pre and post incorporation services.